STILL SECRET

The year was 1949. Mutinies occurred on Canadian warships. Enlisted men refused to obey orders and locked themselves in their messes. A government inquiry followed and investigators were instructed to be on the lookout for communist influence. The finding: A call for better conditions on ships and a restructuring of the officer corps. William Law, head of the Naval Officers Association of Canada, says he has received written assurances from Defense Minister Erik Nielsen that details of the inquiry report, which details the reasons for the uprisings, will remain secret until 1999 and then will be available only with special permission.